Understanding True Health

At 39, Aimee lived a life that many would envy: a Pilates instructor in the heart of Lower Manhattan, active, fit, and vibrant. Her mornings started with green juice, her afternoons were filled with teaching movement, and her evenings were spent with her husband and their cats in a cozy downtown apartment. She was the kind of person who seemed immune to anything life-threatening. But health, as she would come to know, can be a deceptive thing.

When Aimee first faced cancer, she was just 32 years old. A lump, discovered after an innocent scratch to her rib, sent her spiraling into a world she never expected. Her doctor flagged the lump as suspicious, a biopsy confirmed it as Stage 1A breast cancer, and two weeks later, she was navigating the labyrinth of surgery consultations at a renowned medical institution.

Within a month, she underwent a bilateral mastectomy. “They told me I was cured,” she says, her voice measured but edged with the disbelief that lingers in hindsight. “All I needed to do was take a pill every day for 10 years, and that was it.”

Limits of Routine Care

For the next seven years, she followed the post-cancer playbook. Survivorship entailed a physical examination every year. She maintained her already-clean lifestyle, refined her diet, and leaned into her natural instincts for health. But she was also shocked by how little the standard care involved. Aimee wasn’t the type to sit back and hope for the best. Cancer had touched her life too closely—her father’s chronic leukemia, her mother’s untimely death from cancer, grandparents and uncles lost to it. She carried the CHEK2 genetic mutation, which increased her likelihood of developing cancer. “I couldn’t just bury my head in the sand,” she says.

A Test for Her Future

That mindset led her to Function Health, where she accessed game-changing tools and insights that unlocked a whole perspective for her. She began tracking over 100 biomarkers, fascinated by what her blood could reveal about her overall health. A year into her membership, she heard about a test she could get through Function that wasn’t part of her regular routine but gnawed at the back of her mind: Galleri- a lab test designed for the early screening of numerous cancer signals.

Her oncologist dismissed it outright—"You feel fine, so there’s no need for this,” they told her. Even her integrative physician expressed doubts. But Aimee, always intuitive about her health, ignored their reassurances. “I had this feeling,” she says, leaning forward, her voice more certain now. “I just knew I needed to do it.”

Through Galleri, Aimee found what her doctors overlooked.

She remembers the moment vividly. The call came on a Friday afternoon while she was in a fitting room. The practitioner’s voice was calm but serious: there was a positive signal. Cancer. Breast cancer.

Hidden Beneath “Healthy”

“That couldn’t be possible,” she remembers thinking. She’d had a bilateral mastectomy. There was no breast tissue left to harbor disease. But microscopic cancer cells, sometimes called micrometastases, she would learn, don’t always leave. They can remain dormant, invisible to scans and other tests, until the day they start spreading, and cause a recurrence. By the time her biopsy was complete, the reality was devastating: the cancer was back, this time metastatic. Stage 4.

It had spread to her liver, her bones, and her spine.

“It was like finding out you’re carrying a ticking time bomb,” Aimee says. She pauses, her gaze momentarily fixed on the city skyline outside her apartment window. “But at least I knew it was there.”

Aimee’s bloodwork had been pristine. Her tumor markers were normal. By all conventional measures, she was a picture of health. Without Galleri, she would have continued her survivorship routine, oblivious to the cancer quietly spreading inside her body.

Taking Control

The urgency of her situation pushed her into action. Her treatment plan—hormonal therapy combined with cutting-edge drugs—includes medications so new they weren’t available just six months ago. And yet, they’re already shrinking her tumors.

The speed at which science is advancing fuels her hope. “Science is catching up,” she says. “It’s exciting to know that what didn’t exist yesterday could save your life tomorrow.” Even more remarkable, Aimee continues to feel physically healthy. She has no symptoms and still enjoys the same energy and vitality she had before her diagnosis.

She’s candid about the fear that comes with knowledge. “Yes, it’s scary to know,” she admits. “But it’s so much scarier not to know. If I hadn’t taken that test, I wouldn’t be here to tell you this story.”

What’s Possible

Today, Aimee’s life looks different. She still teaches Pilates, but with a new perspective on what it means to move and live. She still drinks her green juice each morning, but now it’s paired with gratitude for another day. And she still believes in advocating for her health, not just for herself but for others who might be wavering in fear of the unknown.

“If I can do anything,” she says, “it’s to show people that you have to be your own advocate. Push for answers. Trust your instincts. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re fine when your gut says otherwise.”

Aimee’s story isn’t just one of survival. It’s a testament to the power of knowledge and the courage it takes to confront what’s hidden. And perhaps most of all, it’s a story of hope—a reminder that even when the odds feel overwhelming, the science of prevention and progress is already here, waiting to save lives.

Watch Aimee's Function story now.

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